Food industry needs government push

Food industry needs government push

JAKARTA (JP): The government must boost the competitiveness of
the national export of farm products by providing fiscal
incentives, a government official has said.

The Director General of Agricultural and Forestry Products
Industries Sujata said yesterday that giving tax incentives to
farm-related industries would help boost their exports.

"Farm-related industries need a push from the government to
create more reliable export commodities," he said, adding that
the sector must be given as much attention as other industries.

For example, food products could be exempted from value-added
tax, he told journalists.

Food industries would also benefit from a direct export to
countries without having to go through a third country, he said.

"This is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to boost
the export of farm products," he said.

Sujata said food products could become Indonesia's main
export, as the products contained less imported components.

He said investment in food-related industries increased by an
average of 20 percent annually, while the export of food products
rose by about 11 percent a year, he said.

Top exported food products were cassava, fish, cashews and
cocoa, he said.

Sujata and several other officials from the Ministry of
Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture announced the
country's plan yesterday to celebrate the 17th anniversary of
World Food Day on Oct. 16.

World Food Day was initiated by the United Nations' Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1980.

This year's celebration will take place in Taman Mini and will
be attended by President Soeharto.

Sujata said FAO's headquarters in Rome, Italy, would broadcast
to television stations around the world a series of food-related
programs called "telefood".

The programs included community service announcements,
discussions and talk shows regarding food problems around the
world.

FAO will adopt the theme of "Investing in Food Security".

FAO's representative in Indonesia Dato Abdul Wahid Jalil said
yesterday that investment in the food sector could be in the form
of technology.

"Investment not only comes from the government but also from
the private sector and institutions with the same mission, to
improve the agricultural sector," he said. (das)